Who We Are

The Twin Cities' Metro Area Team is a part of Bread for the World, a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.We write to Congress to advocate for social justice to eliminate hunger and poverty.

Links

Want to start a Bread ministry at your church or parish? The new HOWTO page will show you. Click the HOWTO tab above!

Our RESOURCES page is expanding. It now has materials for the workshops, links to advocacy helps and a great skit on it.CLICK HERE

Our WORKSHOP materials include links for advocacy, education, and info on U.S. and international hunger. CLICK HERE

News

*photo l. to r.: Scott Brazil, Ed Payne, Chuck Ackman, Marty Fergus, Dottie Fergus, and Carol Dubay.More Advocacy inSen. Klobuchar's officeMembers of our Minnesota Bread team met with Chuck Ackman, Sen. Klobuchar’s director for Agriculture and southern Minnesota, in the Senator’s metro area office in September. We advocated for the Corker – Coons amendment for food aid for overseas needs. This amendment includes lifting the requirement that all food aid commodities be produced in the United States. The US Agency for International Development could use food produced nearer to the area of need or use credit cards or vouchers – whichever works the best. We also advocated for two immigration bills.******************************

TEAM COORDINATOR: Ed PayneAnd thanks to Ed for making this web site possible.

2018 Workshops No Poverty! No Hunger! No Excuses!

Workshops were held at Bethel University and St Stephen Lutheran Church in Bloomington. The Storiesbrought to us by recipients &/or social workersThe Policieswhich help those in needOur Empowerment and our calling

Gathering at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Bloomington, MN on a bright Saturday morning was a good way to focus on “Hope for Hungry Children” as a part of the larger Bread for the World 2017 focus “Doing Our Part to End Hunger”. Those attending began ...Click ﻿﻿HERE﻿﻿ for more on our Workshops page. ****************************************

The 2016 Workshops ClickHEREto go to our Workshops page and see the complete 2016 coverage!

The Issue: The 2016 Offering of Letters will focus on ending preventable maternal and child deaths by providing better nutrition and healthcare. We are asking Congress to support robust funding levels of key global health and nutrition programs; and to pass the Global Food Security act and reform the ways it provides food aid.Our Speakers included: Jordan Teague (on left), International Policy Analyst for Food Security and Nutrition, from Bread’s Washington, D.C. office (on Saturday). Mary B. Johnson (RD, MPH, LN, CLS), is from the Minnesota Women, Infants and Children Program at the Minnesota Department of Health (Wed & Sat). Zach Schmidt, our regional organizer, talked along with Jordan about capitol hill strategies for us to use.

YOU can write a letter to Congressin just 2 minutes!Simply choose one or two key pointsto put in your letter.

The 2015 Issues1) Maintaining and Increasing programs such as Women, Infants and Children (WIC), School lunches, School breakfasts, after school meals, Summer meals, 53% of WIC eligible kids Special Milk, and Child Care Food which help U.S. children (ages 1 to 4) do NOT get it.survive and thrive. (No Child Left Hungry)2) Protecting other nutrition programs such as Food Stamps (SNAP) from cuts to pay for these Childhood Nutrition programs. (And No One Else Either)3) Renewing Public Law 111-296, the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act which expires on Sept. 30, 2015.****************************************************

Faith and AdvocacyWhy should Christians engage in advocacy? We ourselves are beneficiaries of advocacy. We are told in Scripture that Jesus himself is our advocate (1John 2:1). The Holy Spirit is called the Advocate (John 14:26). As we have benefited from advocacy, we ought likewise to become advocates for others.

Throughout Scriptures we see God’s people calling their leaders to account. The prophets of the Old Testament repeatedly called upon the rulers of Israel to “do justice.”

Christians are invited to model Christ’s love. When we steward our influence and advocate to our nation’s leaders to transform social structures and protect society’s most vulnerable people, we show our love of God and love for our neighbors. We are called to strengthen the moral dignity of our nation’s programs and policies.

At Bread for the World, we put advocacy to work by building relationships with members of Congress, and influencing them through our*Individual letters *Offerings of Letters *Phone Calls *Letters to the Editor (newspapers) *Visits with Congressional offices *Emails *Questions at Town hall meetings

TheBible’sfirstAdvocate!

When the Israelites were in bondage to the Egyptians, God did NOT send Moses to deliver food and clothing to them. God knew that it would not address the cause of the problem. God sent Moses to the head politician of Egypt (the Pharaoh) to advocate for the Israelites.***************************************

Letters to the Editor

Our Bread team member, Scott Brazil, wrote to the Star Tribune: Published on September 4, 2017 on CONGRESS AND CONSTITUENTS

READERS WRITE Are lawmakers listening? Yes. I want to publicly say “thank you” to Jack Dwyer, district director for U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis, for taking an hour of his time to sit and listen to me and others who are connected to Bread for the World to discuss the federal budget. We shared with him our deep concern about budget proposals from the Trump administration and the House Budget Committee that would cut domestic and international funding for those who need it the most — people living with hunger and poverty. We pointed out that domestic programs like SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), WIC and tax credits for low-income working families provide our neighbors here in the U.S. with a critical safety net. In addition, international programs like food aid, development assistance, and maternal and child nutrition improve the lives of millions of our neighbors around the world, on less than 1 percent of our federal budget. All of these programs face potentially deep funding cuts that would impact millions of men, women and children.I firmly believe that our federal budget is more than just a financial document; it reveals our values and priorities as a nation. Congress will make a final decision about the fiscal year 2018 budget when lawmakers return to Washington, D.C., this week. Please take the time to learn more about what is being proposed, what is at stake and how you can be a voice for the most vulnerable in our society by visiting www.bread.org.Scott Brazil, Jordan

Previous Advocacy in Sen. Klobuchar's officeOn May 13th three members of Bread joined with Oxfam America and the League of Women Voters to encourage Senator Klobuchar to reject attempts to cut the effectiveness of the Local and Regional Purchase program. We met with General (Ret.) Tim Cossalter, the Senator's Outreach Director in Minneapolis. We reminded him that the LRP program was very effective in our response to the hurricane in the Philippines. We explained that the attempt to protect U.S. shipping interests would not help our shipping because all of the largest shipping of our food aid is done by foreign ships. Further, this attempt would affect less than one per-cent of our shipping but would cut food aid to two million people in emergencies. photo l to r: Ed Payne, Bread; Deb Price, League of Women Voters; Jim French, Oxfam America; Carol Dubay, Bread; Gen. Cossalter; Karen Fitzpatrick, Bread; Lew Hille, Oxfam America

Our Metro Team calls Senator Klobuchar's office on May 7th regarding the Senate's actions within the next few days as we advocate for those in need.L to R: Vernita Kennen , the note taker (Metro Bread Team, 4th District coordinator), Donna Neste, Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator, Mt. Olive Lutheran Church (Metro Bread Team and member of the Bread for the World national Board of Directors), Carol Dubay, Facilitator (Metro Bread Team, 3rd District Coordinator), Ed Payne, Twin Cities Metro Bread for the World Team leader, Sara Nelson-Pallmeyer, Executive Director, Minnesota FoodShare, Tammy Walhof, Bread for the World, Senior Regional Organizer, Upper Midwest office. Joining us on the conference call was Rev. Peg Chemberlin, Executive Director, Minnesota Council of Churches.

We talked with Elizabeth Frosch (Senator Klobuchar’s aide for food and nutrition issues). After introducing ourselves, Rev. Chemberlin spoke to how our faith influences our reasons for standing for both charity AND justice, quoting Isaiah 58. She urged policies which make for the common good and reduce poverty. She urged continued effective measures with no divestment. Our main messages were to protect and strengthen SNAP (formerly food stamps); to not let cuts be made to the program; that churches and charities cannot make up the difference and people will be left hungry. We stressed the importance of food targeted to the nutritional needs of women and children, especially in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life from pregnancy to age two. And we asked her to adopt the Food Aid reforms proposed by the Administration. We all talked in turn stressing various points which support the need for strong federal supports such as SNAP.Elizabeth said that the Senator’s position is to “maintain the bill here in the Senate” which include cuts to SNAP. We emphasized that NO cuts to SNAP are acceptable and that Senator Klobuchar should work against the rhetoric of fraud and waste in the SNAP program. Tammy asked if Elizabeth would join us and closed our call with prayer before our final thank-yous.

Today's and Tomorrow's Voters Visit MN Representative McCollum’s Office Fourteen people, including three pre-teens, visited the local office of MN Representative Betty McCollum during the August recess. They urged her to continue nudging her House colleagues to remember those they represent who are people living with poverty and hunger. The young people explained their concern using a visual they had made showing how little of the federal budget goes to help people in need. The group urged Rep. McCollum to remember to keep the “Circle of Protection” around specific programs which provide the most effective help to those with less means than most of us but who are may be members of her constituency and are certainly all God’s children. The meeting with Legislative Director, Peter Frosch, was one filled with issues, listening, personal stories, encouragement from all sides, and a sense of being of one mind about the needs and some of the solutions. Fourteen people went home feeling empowered and willing to visit this office and the offices of senators again.

Bread members visit Rep. Erik PaulsenEight of us took advantage of the August and Labor Day recess for Congressman Paulsen and visited with him in his district office. Congressional surveys have shown that the only type of contact better than a handwritten letter is a personal visit. Our district coordinator, Carol Dubay, arranged the meeting for September 5th and contacted each of us to meet a few minutes ahead of time in order to plan what we would emphasize. Of course, we framed our discussion in terms of the Circle of Protection for the poorest among us. But since the Congressman is on the committee that makes decisions on taxation, we emphasized the need to maintain the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit programs. He stated that he is helping the Secretary of Agriculture to broaden his contacts in the House in order to expand our development projects overseas. And he also said that he is working on legislation to let home-bound seniors use their SNAP benefits to pay for groceries provided by delivery services. This is the second meeting we have had with the Congressman in his local office and we hope it is a sign of many more to come.Pictured, front, l to r: Audrey Johnson, Ed Payne, Brad Pepin; pictured, back, l to r: Gerry Peterson, Dick Johnson, Rep. Paulsen, Judy Waeschle, Carol Dubay, Lois Troemel.********************************

A CIRCLE OF PROTECTION - Why we need to protect programs for the poor:1. The nation needs to substantially reduce future deficits, but not at the expense of hungry and poor people. 2. Funding focused on reducing poverty should not be cut. It should be made as effective as possible, but not cut.3. We urge our leaders to protect and improve poverty-focused development and humanitarian assistance to promote a better, safer world. 4. National leaders must review and consider tax revenues, military spending, and entitlements in the search for ways to share sacrifice and cut deficits. 5. A fundamental task is to create jobs and spur economic growth. Decent jobs at decent wages are the best path out of poverty, and restoring growth is a powerful way to reduce deficits.6. The budget debate has a central moral dimension. People of faith are asking how we protect “the least of these.” “How do we share sacrifice?” "How do we make 'Justice flow...'"7. As believers, we turn to God with prayer and fasting, to ask for guidance as our nation makes decisions about our priorities as a people. 8. God continues to shower our nation and the world with blessings. As believers, we are rooted in the love of God. Our task is to share these blessings with love and justice and with a special priority for those who are poor.